What was or is your favorite baitcating reel?

[FishTank]

Shimano Core 101 MG.

 

I have several I enjoy and I change my mind from time to time as to which one I like the most but my favorite will always be the Core. 

 

If you know the movie, it's like this for me now......

 

[J._Bricker]

In some ways the was or is my favorite reel could come down to the why for me. The why being though I have tried, I just can’t take my old Curado B’s out of the lineup for deploying moving baits. 

*it probably didn’t help installing Carbontex Carbon fiber drag washers and regular bearing maintenance.

[JediAmoeba]

 

This one. Team Daiwa X

[Columbia Craw]

Daiwa 103SV

[GRiver]

I really like my carbon lite reels, reliable, smooth and user friendly. Not my most expensive reels, but I find myself grabbing them every time I go. I have two of them, ones and LE (limited edition) it likes lighter weight baits.

[Log Catcher]

For me it is the Curado 200B. It still use mine some. I need to like @J._Bricker and get some carbontex drag washers for mine.

[bulldog1935]

[Big Hands]

I like all of my horses on the courses they are best suited to, but if I could only keep one reel, it would be my SLX MGL 70. It does lots of things quite well and doesn't particularly disappoint in any areas. I have other reels that excel in their niche, but that would be my 'desert island (with a lake)' pick.

[oncewas]

Bantam 100. Still using 2 today. In the late 70's was using round reels. When this reel came along it was unbelievable. Now i have Tats, Dcs and SVs but i still use the Bantams.

[gim]

7 hours ago, DaubsNU1 said:

Picked up a few of these Shimano Curado's in the 1990's, along with Citca's.

I still have 3 of them too. They don’t make ‘em like they used to.

[Motoboss]

Four of my everyday rigs.

[r83srock]

Shimano Curado 100b followed by 200b. The SLX MGL 70 is right up there though.

[new2BC4bass]

I've never been able to answer this question.  Didn't get into baitcast reels until I was 61.  Immediately determined that I loved this type of reel.  I have many favorites.  I also purchased a few reels over the past 4 years that I haven't fished with yet.

 

Started to list a few, but the list got too long. 

 

[Dan N]

I don’t buy high end reels, maybe $200 tops. I’ve had many 100$ reels that perform great. I’d go with Lews or Abu. 
I believe I had 7 BPS pro qualifier 2 that I loved. But I pass them on , so I rarely have reels for more than 2 years.

( I believe Wazoo might have got a couple of them)

[papajoe222]

Hands down, my TD Sols.  I'm sure there are smoother baitcasters out there, but I haven't found any.

I take that back, my Alphas is just as smooth. Both of those will handle the majority of what I ask them and they really shine when  throwing the light stuff.

[ABU is overpriced]

Pretty easy answer, the pixy.

 

[Dan N]

This 50$ Kastking has performed great! Smooth, great casting distance, no backlash issues. I will probably only use it 1 season, and pass on . I like trying new stuff a lot. Even cheap reels . 
I think I probably have at least 1 of all the major brands. 

like this one. Shimano SLX. Was not expensive.

[gdub17]

I’ve always been a round reel guy. I started with Abu 5500c3 which I used for several years. My brother’s girlfriend bought him a Calcutta 200b for his birthday. I tried that and was instantly addicted to the smoothness and build quality. I saved my pennies for a while and went to academy sports. They had a huge selection of Calcutta b’s at the time and I opted for the ct50b which was shimano’s smallest. I loved the way it fit my hand and how solid and smooth it was so I bought one. Used it for many years fishing for everything from largemouth to bull redfish in brackish water. It handled everything I could throw at it but was starting to show its age. I was working as a plant operator at the time  with plenty of overtime so I decided to splurge on a new exact ct50b. This reel is phenomenal and  I keep it  far away from brackish or saltwater. It’s my current reel and is as good as the day I bought it. I plan on keeping it for a long time because it’s an awesome largemouth bass reel imo. Love the variety of reels you guys have owned but I’m one of those if I like I keep it  personalities . The reel  might be tiny but it’s build quality is excellent and it’s strong as a bull💪

[bottom_dollar]

Lew’s tournament MB

[redmeansdistortion]

[cadman]

Mine are Revo MGX Gen 1 and 2 and Revo MGXtreme 1 and 2. I use 12 in rotation and have 12 new in the box at home as extras.

[new2BC4bass]

11 hours ago, papajoe222 said:

Hands down, my TD Sols.  I'm sure there are smoother baitcasters out there, but I haven't found any.

I take that back, my Alphas is just as smooth. Both of those will handle the majority of what I ask them and they really shine when  throwing the light stuff.

Pretty similar reels to me.  I don't pay much attention to the weight difference.  I'm also one that usually doesn't notice little things like how a reel feels in hand.  I've only been amazed one time how well a reel felt when mounted on a rod.  And that was with an unpopular brand for many enthusiasts.  I couldn't believe how well an original Concept A felt when mounted on my Rainshadow RX7.  Not something I had felt before.  Or since...yet.  Still have a few new reels to try.

[msgf91]

Bantam Bass One Mag

It's the one that started it all for me. My dad bought me one after I caught my first bass with a lure.... Or it was because he was tired of me tearing up all the Micky mouse spincast reels I used. I caught tons of bass with it till I broke it catching Stripers at the Lake Texoma dam. 

[redmeansdistortion]

1 hour ago, new2BC4bass said:

Pretty similar reels to me.  I don't pay much attention to the weight difference.  I'm also one that usually doesn't notice little things like how a reel feels in hand.  I've only been amazed one time how well a reel felt when mounted on a rod.  And that was with an unpopular brand for many enthusiasts.  I couldn't believe how well an original Concept A felt when mounted on my Rainshadow RX7.  Not something I had felt before.  Or since...yet.  Still have a few new reels to try.

The TD Sol is the USM Alphas 103.  Primary differences aside from color, Sol uses brass gears and also uses a brass gear on the level wind.  Alphas 103 has a duralumin drive gear and a nylon idler for the level wind.  Every part for the '03-'19 Alphas is interchangable, even the spools when using spool spacers.  The only gotcha, if running a 28mm or 30mm spool, the longer pinion gear from the Alphas CT SV is required.

[new2BC4bass]

19 hours ago, GRiver said:

I really like my carbon lite reels, reliable, smooth and user friendly. Not my most expensive reels, but I find myself grabbing them every time I go. I have two of them, ones and LE (limited edition) it likes lighter weight baits.

The old gold colored Carbonlites are 2 of the 3 reels I used to learn casting a #5 Shad Rap with.  I like them, too.